Chinese exchange students from Dongfengdong Primary School learn different kicks Friday evening at the Lacombe Karate and Kickboxing studio.

A group of Grade 5 students from Guangzhou, China visiting Lacombe through the Wolf Creek Public Schools’ (WCPS) International Learning Program are getting a feel for life and culture in Canada.

A total of 30 students arrived in the country Sept. 25 as part of a trip celebrating the sister school partnership between Terrace Ridge School and Dongfengdong Primary School. They’re the youngest group to visit yet, and are already getting their fill of all things Canadian inside and outside the classroom.

Hui Huang – known as Grace – is a primary school teacher who joined them on the trip, and just a week in, already says she wants to come back.

“I’ve seen and experienced a lot of new things. Everything makes me so excited,” she said. “Everyone is so nice to talk to, everyone is really helpful. I a short time (the students) are involved in class, making friends and experiencing many new things.

“I think it’s quite important they know a lot about Canada. Most of us are in Canada for the first time and it’s a really good thing for us.”

Their first weekend saw them visit the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, followed by a camping trip in the Rocky Mountains, seeing snow, trying s’mores, and taking in a Red Deer Rebels hockey game.

In school, they tried their hands at robotics and learned about the differences between schooling in Canada and China.

As a Chinese literacy teacher, Huang said she liked the use of peer tutoring, where older students help younger ones learn how to read. She also said she loved the use of student teachers and how  they’re able to learn on the job, teaching lessons and doing activities with the children, not to mention how many subject.

“The teachers in Canada, they can do many, many things. They can teach and be artists and play hockey – they’re very talented. In their classes, teachers teach many majors so they read a lot here. My major is Chinese literacy, so I only teach Chinese language and literacy,” she said.

“The school life and teaching way is quite different from China. There’s lots to talk about with my group and they’ll really learn a lot.”

Liam Lougheed, left, watches over two Grade 5 students from Dongfengdog Primary School in Guangzhou, China as they practice some defensive moves at the Lacombe Karate and Kickboxing Studio on Friday. The students are visiting as part of the WCPS International Learning Program.

On Friday, they went canoeing, before getting a taste of Canada’s diversity through martial arts at the Lacombe Karate and Kickboxing studio.

The students were taught some basic punching and kicking moves, as well as how to escape someone’s grip if they’re grabbed – either by the arm or neck – and how to disarm someone without risking their own safety.

“I think the biggest difference is our style is Zen Karate-Do. It was actually founded in Canada,” said Zak Robinson, one of several assistants that helped out with the lesson. “While it does involve Shotokan Karate, which is obviously from Okinawa and not necessarily China, a lot of the moves are in a variety of (different martial arts) – it’s just how they’re applied. The stick fighting move – that’s from the Philippines, but a lot of moves like the boxing ones you can find in karate, taekwondo.”

While it may not have been the kind of martial arts the students were familiar with, and were being taught in a language they weren’t used to, the students were still able to pick up the various moves.

“I’d say, with the language thing, maybe they didn’t really understand all of what we were saying, but they put their effort it, tried hard and had a lot energy so it didn’t really matter,” said Sarah Pollock, another assistant helping out. “They were doing their best and having fun.

“It is important because they get to see what’s similar and what’s different here from the martial arts that they see. It was a lot of fun.”

The group of students won’t be the last to visit this academic year, with students at the junior high level set to arrive in weeks to come.

Clint Robison of Lacombe Karate and Kickboxing shows a Chinese exchange student from Dongfengdog Primary School in Guangzhou, China a disarming technique Friday.

新闻出处：Lacombe globe

https://www.lacombeglobe.com/news/local-news/chinese-exchange-students-experience-canadian-culture-in-lacombe